A bizarre and completely ridiculous situation led to Lexi Thompson finishing as the runner-up instead of the champion at the ANA Inspiration, one of the LPGA’s five majors.
Thompson was assessed a four-shot penalty on Sunday for replacing her ball in an improper spot at the 17th hole, before she made a one-foot putt. She was given a two-stroke penalty for moving the ball and a two-stroke penalty for signing an incorrect scorecard.
However, the infraction took place in the third round on Saturday, and Thompson wasn’t even told about the four-stroke penalty until after she completed the 12th hole during Sunday’s final round. A two-shot lead (at 16-under) after the 12th hole immediately turned into a two-shot deficit for Thompson.
And here’s where the story gets even more absurd: the tournament officials were alerted about the infraction thanks to a TV viewer’s email tip! For real.
Thompson would still manage to force a playoff with against So Yeon Ryu, but lost on the first hole of the sudden-death format.
So, let’s recap:
- Thompson was given a four-stroke penalty for something that happened the day before.
- She wasn’t even alerted about the penalty until she was nearly done with the tournament, and while she had a two-shot lead.
- The tournament officials didn’t even notice the infraction until a TV viewer emailed them.
What a great way to decide a major! Whether or not it should’ve been a penalty is ultimately beside the point. Once we moved on to Sunday, we moved on to Sunday. And a tip from some rando watching on TV should especially not change the previous day’s results.
Thompson was understandably very emotional after the finish:
There has been plenty of reaction to this story from golfers, media members, and celebrities:
https://twitter.com/JustinThomas34/status/848690652649009152
https://twitter.com/PeterUihlein/status/848686088445202436
And I thought ESPN’s John Anderson really nailed it on SportsCenter:
[Golf Channel; ESPN]
This reminds me of the time someone called in to say that Craig Stadler had improperly put down a towel at the Masters (I think), which cost him a stroke. What kind of person watches a golf tournament looking for ways to screw someone? The world of golf needs to rethink letting a TV viewer influence the outcome of an event. What a joke.